Italy Seeks Ancient Loot From Symes Trustees

Italy Seeks Ancient Loot From Symes
Trustees

"The collection
represents a selection of objects from a larger collection
formed by Maurice Tempelsman, a diamond merchant resident in
New York, over the past twenty-five years. The individual
pieces come from a variety of sources, although the largest
number were provided directly by, or were bought legally
through, Robin Symes of London. All have been legally
imported into the U.S. The collection is currently in the
Museum." -- Acquisition Notes of Getty Museum
antiquities curator Arthur Houghton cited in The Medici
Conspiracy.

Among the high profile
clients of British antiquities dealer Robin Symes was Maurice Tempelsman --
one of the pillars of the Eastern Establishment (Council on
Foreign Relations, Africa-America Institute, long-time
beau of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and "friend" of former
Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright); Leon Levy &
Shelby White and the Metropolitan Museum of Art were
customers too. Symes bought his pieces primarily from
now-convicted antiquities smuggler Giacomo Medici, the man
who sold the Euphronios Sarpedon vases to Bob Hecht.

In a
reversal of fortune beginning with the accidental death of
Symes's long-time business partner and companion Christo
Michaelides ten years ago at a dinner party in Italy hosted
by Levy & White and then many months in prison in the UK --
Symes, once the prince of the ancient art trade, is now
bankrupt. And Italy is asking for restitution of some 1,000
artifacts from Symes's Trustees in Bankruptcy, according to
Maurizio Fiorilli, the lawyer for Italy's Ministry of
Culture who negotiated the return of the Euphronios krater
and other treasures from America's museums.

Although Symes
destroyed most of the documents related to his business
partnership with Michaelides, there is still an indelible
photo trail. Here is a sampling of the pieces Italy seeks
as part of its cultural patrimony. In many cases there is
an exact match of objects in the Medici polaroids seized during police raids on
Medici in Geneva and of objects in the
Symes hoard photographed by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

11. #R 2767 Silver phiale, two
silver cups (calathus) and a silver patera, 1st - 2nd
Century AD. Similar to artifacts from Pompeii, Ercolano and
BoscorealeClick for big
version

12. #2361 Carinated cup with
baccellature common to the Vesuvian area, decorated on the
outward side with leaf designs in pairs.Click for big
version

ENDS

*************

Suzan Mazur's stories on art and antiquities have been
published in The Economist, Financial Times, Connoisseur,
Archaeology (cover) and Newsday. Other reports have appeared
on PBS, CBC and MBC. She has been a guest on McLaughlin,
Charlie Rose and various Fox Television News programs.
Email: sznmzr@aol.com

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